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Being
Jack Bauer
“This is the longest day of my
life,” when these seven words are spoken by federal super agent, Jack Bauer,
at first they seem innocuous but no man on earth carries the weight of the world
on his shoulders like Jack Bauer. The safety of
The complexities of Jack Bauer are multi-layered and even after five
seasons of “24” there’s still a level of darkness and aloofness that draws
you into his character every week. What
makes a man do what Jack does everyday by putting his life on the line for his
country and his President? His penchant for breaking the rules and disobeying
direct orders from his idiot superiors are what we expect of Jack Bauer every
week, but he was surprisingly always willing to fall in line like a good soldier
behind former President David Palmer (I keep hoping that somehow President
Palmer wasn’t dead, and in the magical world of television the show’s
writers will somehow revive him). In five seasons Jack has had to deal with
terrorists attacks every season, his wife was murdered, his daughter was a pain
in the ass, he’s had to cut a man’s head off to infiltrate a gang, severed
another man’s arm to save his life, got hooked on cocaine to go undercover,
and that’s only seasons one and two. The
higher the stakes are raised the better Jack gets when everything is on the
line. He’s a finely tuned assassin, and make no mistake about it; Jack lives
by the credo of Malcolm X, “By Any Means Necessary.”
In
a world of heightened tension and constant terrorist threats, “24” acts as
the ultimate escape for those of us who want to believe that in the hour of our
most urgent need that somewhere out there we have a Jack Bauer on our side to
save the day. Even if it’s just television somehow secretly believing this
makes us feel better, and we’re able to live under the illusion that the world
isn’t such a horrible place. Even if the world is horrible, we can take
comfort in the fact that with Jack Bauer in it; at the hour of
Jack
Bauer makes “24” what it is, a hybrid of minute by minute action and never
knowing what awesome thing Jack will do next, but the added dynamic of his close
friendship with President Palmer gave the show an added dimension of friendship.
In season one Jack saved Palmer’s live twice, and thus a friendship of
trust and mutual respect was born. Through his trusty cell phone that seemingly
never dies, Jack has direct access to President Palmer as they wage holy war
against the unholy band of terrorists. In
the season ending episode of season four when the Chinese government wants to
arrest Jack because he broke into their embassy, and one of their government
official was killed during a shootout; President Palmer called Jack to warn him
that someone was on the way to kill him. President Palmer along with three
people Jack trusts (Tony, Michelle and Chloe) help Jack to fake his death and
get out of the country. The last
phone conversation between Jack and President Palmer is subtle, but it
underscored the mutual respect that both men have for each other. They are men
of high morale standing and even when they make a mistake it’s not one of
self-preservation, but always with the intent of saving lives. As Jack prepares
to board a cargo train he calls President Palmer again for their last
exchange.” For all intents and purposes, Jack Bauer is dead,” Palmer says
solemnly. “Mr. President, it’s
been an honor,” Jack replies. Jack walks off into the sunset, bag on his
shoulders and sunglasses cloaking his thoughts. What will happen to our hero?
Will the forces of evil succeed now that Jack Bauer has gone into hiding? We all
know Jack Bauer doesn’t go into hiding. Somehow, someway he will be called
into action again because the fate of the world is in hands, super agent Jack
Bauer. This is as good as television can get, and for an hour of every Monday
Being Jack Bauer is the highest calling of any television character. Thank you,
Jack.
Dean
Jean-Pierre
(This work is copyrighted)